Previn/LAPO: Prokofiev Symphonies Nos. 1 & 5 - Philips 420 172-1 (DDD, sealed)

$

50

redgarnett Store ITEM DESCRIPTION:

This handsome and rare late-issue LP, a still-sealed copy, from Philips (420 172-1, Dutch pressing, silver/red label, DDD stereo) features André Previn’s high-octane readings of Prokofiev’s Symphonies No. 1 in D Major Op. 25 ‘Classical’ and No. 5 in B-flat Major Op. 100, taped in May 1986 at UCLA’s Royce Hall Auditorium with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on brilliant form (producer: Wilhlem Hellweg / engineers: Onno Scholtze and John Newton). 

Previn is gifted Prokofiev interpreter of long-standing, and recorded both of these works with the London Symphony Orchestra for EMI.  These digital re-makes are even more striking, in sound of stunning impact and presence.  This remains not only Previn’s finest achievement from his distinguished tenure with the LAPO, but also one of great pairings of these symphonies on record. 

Wrote the esteemed critic Robert Layton in his review for the November 1987 issue of The Gramophone:

“Previn's natural affinity for Prokofiev makes this an almost unqualified success and one of the finest records he has made.

“Prokofiev is a composer with whom Previn has a strong natural affinity. This version with the Los Angeles Philharmonic is an almost unqualified success. Indeed, I am tempted to say that it is one of the finest records Previn has made in recent years. At the risk of repeating a truism, once an artist has found the tempo giusto, the speed which ideally suits his view of the work, details of phrasing, articulation and colour fall naturally into place.

“In the first movement of the Fifth Symphony Previn seems to me exactly right. Everthing flows so naturally and speaks so effectively that I was looking forward to being swept away by an exhilarating and high-spirited scherzo. Very good it is too, though not quite so superb as the first movement: the long-deleted RCA mono Koussevitzky and 78 rpm Rodzinski on Columbia had more zest, and of recent versions Bernstein and the Israel orchestra on CBS give us playing of higher voltage at fig. 51 to the end of the movement. Neither Koussevitzky nor, I think, Rodzinsky observed the L'estesso tempo marking at fig. 48 and I have often wondered whether this indication was omitted from earlier editions of the printed score. I remember being drawn up with a start the very first time I heard it (in a studio broadcast by Sir Malcolm Sargent and the BBC Symphony Orchestra in the late 1950s). Previn brings this off well and in the slow movement gets playing of genuine eloquence from the Los Angeles orchestra.

“On his recent record for Decca, Ashkenazy offers the early tone-poem, Dreams, a more adventurous coupling than the Classical Symphony. However, Previn gives an excellent account of this perennially fresh score. The recording is beautifully natural with impressive detail, range and body. But summing up, Previn's splendid new issue must rank among the finest now available.”

Incidentally, the striking portrait of Prokofiev on the jacket front was made by Alfred Lent (1914-1983), a canvas that now belongs to the F.A. Ackermanns Kunstverlag GmbH, Munich. There are fine liner notes provided in English, French, and Italian (by Robert Layton), as well as in German (by Wilhelm Pfannkuch).

CONDITION:

The gradations of condition I use are as follows: MINT, Near-Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

The condition of the still-sealed jacket is near-MINT. Though still truly sealed, there is slight bumping at corners, but that is all. There are no seamsplits, bends, or owners' markings and the album remains very solid, bright, glossy, and very attractive – overall, a fine collector's copy.

The condition of the LP itself is MINT – this is a still-sealed, pristine LP – the ideal collector’s copy.

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